Hello Bible Adventurists,
God gives a couple of instructions here in Leviticus that are worthy to watch for as we read along. I am thinking specifically about the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee. These ‘years of rest’ for the land are leaps of faith for the people. As a family farmer, would you have enough faith to not plant any crops any year? Even if God provides a triple harvest in the sixth year, its challenging to not accept that as profit or reward instead of preparation or future sustenance. This is the question posed in Leviticus 25:20. I try to analogize that into my life as “Do I put it into savings so I can give the land its rest or take that vacation I ‘deserve’?” The analogy is a little flawed since I’m not a farmer, but I’m trying to think of their situation. Would you be willing to take a year off from your job and live on impromptu opportunities promised by God? It probably would depend on if I am faithfully watching for the Sabbath year or not.
The Jubilee year rules are even more challenging. The idea is that God has given the land to a family or tribe and that you can only rent that land from them (Him) and then have to give it back. This keeps one tribe from becoming dominant and allows all tribes to keep their God given covenantal inheritance. The slavery ideas bring special complications in modern American culture. In the all-agrarian economy 4000 years ago, you had few economic options if you didn’t have a green thumb. Slavery was analogous to holding the “Will work for food” sign on the street corner. Anyway, I think 50 years would be a career and maybe a lifetime for most people. The Jubilee would be easy to forget and easier to ignore. These Sabbath and Jubilee year tests of faith are included (Leviticus 26:34) in the warnings for disobeying God’s instructions in Leviticus 26. I also think these rules help to remind us we are only mortal pilgrims in God’s world, and we shouldn’t waste our time building monuments to ourselves.
However, these agriculture rules are given before (spoiler alert) the Israelites buy themselves 40 years of wandering in the desert. Try to watch for how faithfully these rules are followed once the Israelites come into the promised land and can farm.
As an administrative note, I am now posting these letters and the responses we have had to them on the forum page. That is a great place to share thoughts and ask questions.
I hope you are enjoying our adventure,
In His service,
Tom